Those who have been following this petition for a while know that many of our problems with real broadband choice in Bellingham and Whatcom County originate with city staff that have been blocking the use of our existing fiber-optic network in an Open Access manner, and the creation of a good Dig Once Policy. This has been going on for years. On top of this, at the same time our public records requests were being largely ignored, our Public Works department has bent over backward for the big telecoms more times than I can count. However, we have been keeping an eye on all of it, and on July 1st, when Public Works and some of our City Attorneys instructed the council that they had to vote YES on behalf of Verizon (essentially removing our right as citizens to have a say in our own government) this all came to a head. I should note that they did this all without consulting with a single local expert on broadband policy even though the public has many concerns. Outraged citizens, including myself, wrote into our council and to our mayor with e-mails entitled things like, "why public works needs to be investigated" outlining all of the hte oddities over the years. The result is that public works director Ted Carlson finally resigned. 

I am never happy to see someone lose a job, and I always hoped that we could work together and resolve our differences. I like letting bygones be bygones and I like moving forward in a manner that benefits all of our citizens. Over the years it sadly became clear that that was NOT what Ted Carlson wanted.

However, we should look at this as a step forward and take this opportunity to ask our council to appoint a public works director outside of the internal COB structure. For example, assistant public works director Eric Johnson always backed up everything Ted Carlson said and often in the same manner. Having him take Ted's job will probably just result in the same problems we've been having over the years. Whether Eric was following orders when he protected a clearly dysfunctional department or not we'll never know, but I believe it's important that our next public works director come from outside of the system and that the council makes it clear that public infrastructure, including fiber and a Proper Dig Once Policy, are top priorities. We also need to establish a long-term tech advisory committee. Also, they need to make it clear that municipal services will be expanded and that the network will be Open Access as well.  I urge you to write to our council and especially mayoral candidates and voice your concerns.